Kira Starts Legal AI Training Program; Deloitte, Axiom + Cognia Join

Canada-based legal AI company, Kira Systems, has launched a Certified Service Provider Program, with professional services firms Deloitte and Mainspring Consulting Group, as well as alternative legal services providers Axiom, Cognia Law and Elevate, all joining as members.

The training and certification program, which was relatively quietly announced in Canada on 8 May, is designed to provide extensive training to service providers to enable them to more effectively use Kira’s machine learning technology and thereby enhance their contract review work for their clients.

The program will provide graded attainment levels, such as Gold and Silver certifications. These will be based on proven experience in areas such as contract data extraction, regulatory compliance and transactional review. Kira Certified Service Providers will also be assessed on their technical understanding of the software and their ability to effectively manage review projects using the technology.

Noah Waisberg, CEO of Kira (pictured above), said: ‘We believe that in many cases the needs of corporates are best served directly through a service provider, but that shouldn’t mean they don’t get to have the benefits of AI too.’

The AI company added in a statement that the certification program originated from Kira’s experience with large companies, which often wanted to leverage Kira’s AI technology, but lacked the internal resources to use and train the solution.

Hence, it has made more sense for existing providers, including alternative legal businesses such as Axiom, for example, to make use of Kira’s AI capability in its work for the end client. The move also suggests that if ‘traditional’ law firms don’t accelerate their adoption of AI systems, such as document review in this case, then other providers already skilled in project management and process level work will deliver AI-augmented legal services to corporates instead.

Explaining Kira’s AI software benefits, the company said that users consistently report time savings of 20–40% the first time using the system, and up to 60% or more with experience. It went on to say that it expected that because Kira Certified Service Providers will be highly trained on the AI system’s features and workflow best practices, they will be able to maximise the time savings.